Thursday, September 22, 2011

FULL
TEXT (Article 1 of 2): Six women have been arrested at Hodmezo-Vasarhely, in
Hungary, for poisoning their husbands.

The
police found that they had visited a reputed witch named Balapa, and went to
arrest her. When Balapa heard that she was to be tried for complicity she
swallowed a quantity of poison, but recovered after an antidote had been
administered.

She
then made a full confession of having sold poison to the women in custody.

Further
inquiries have brought to light twenty cases of infanticide in which Balapa is
believed to be implicated, and a number of women have been arrested on a charge
of having caused the children’s deaths.

FULL TEXT (Article 2 of 2): Hold-Mezo Vasarhely, Hungary,
June 1. – A great sensation has been created here over the arrest of an old
woman by the name of Valapa, who is accused of being implicated in a wholesale
murder affair. The woman is charged with having supplied the poison with which
six women killed their husbands.

When she was arrested Valapa swallowed some of her own
poison, but was revived. She made a confession in which she admitted assisting
in the half-dozen murders.It is also
believed that she is responsible for a score of infanticides which have
occurred recently. The wives are also being arrested.

[“Wholesale Murder – Old Woman Confesses to Having Furnished
Poison With Which Six Women Killed Their Husbands.” Reading Times (Pa.), Jun.
2, 1905, p. 1]

***

FULL TEXT (translated from German): From Budapest we
are telegraphed a report that in Hodmezö-Vasarhely several more women have been
arrested on suspicion of poisoning husbands whom they had become tired of. The
name of the city Hodmezö-Vasarhely was named many years ago on the occasion of
a similar affair. Even then, the scandal was mass poisoning that had been
committed by young women on their aging spouses. The trial of the murderers and
the poison suppliers has caused disgust and dissatisfaction far beyond the
country's borders.

The hope that this process would be cleansing and
deterrent does not seem to have been fulfilled. Again, inhuman women are said
to have poisoned their husbands to enjoy the freedom of the victims after
death, or even to cash in the sums awarded insurance companies. Once again, the
police have come to the rescue in a major poisoning scandal. Six women were
found to have killed their spouse with poison they acquired from an old woman
named Balapa.

In addition, various women in Hodmezö-Vasarhely are
said to have been responsible for about twenty child murders. These murders are
said to have been carried out with poison that the women received from the
Balapa.

The police wanted to arrest Mrs. Balapa. However,
this was informed and attempted suicide by taking poison itself. However, she
managed to live and she confessed and compromised the six wives in the affair
who had administered poison.